


The Tale of Rin

by TyForestWrites3



Series: Team SHDW [5]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Lots of Angst, Rin just needs a hug, a guy dies, another Ebonvale story, hint of romantic implication at the end, it won't later on, she's based off of Conan the Barbarian, the introduction of a somewhat minor character, though it could be seen as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-04-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:41:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23501002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyForestWrites3/pseuds/TyForestWrites3
Summary: Rin [LAST NAME REDACTED] is another Ebonvale survivor, who was separated from her family at a far too young age. This is how she came to be who she is.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original Male Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Team SHDW [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1690849





	The Tale of Rin

**Author's Note:**

> "That which does not kill us makes us stronger."  
> ~Friedrich Nietzsche

This wasn't a memory Rin liked remembering. She's tried to drown it out so many times in her life, but it never goes away. It's always there in her nightmares.

As a child, Rin was carefree and naive. Ebonvale was a home she felt safe in. Due to both natural and unnatural barriers, Grimm attacks were minor nuisances and any invading human force could easily be squashed. But, as with a lot of stories, it all changed one day. A Grimm attack. It was a bit larger than ones of the past, but it was nothing her fellow people couldn't handle.

That was... until they couldn't.

It was... something large. A single thing, resembling that of a man, but as Rin grew older, she knew that was no man. At least, not anymore. It was at least ten feet tall and humanoid. And in one hand, it held a long, black spear, which it used to decimate squads of their soldiers.

Her parents were in no way soldiers. They knew how to fight and had their own weapons, sure, but they certainly weren't equipped to handle _this_. Nobody was. So when that thing entered the compound and started wrecking shop, her family knew they had to get out or suffer the same fate as the soldiers. But it soon became clear that the entire city was surrounded by Grimm.

The details became very fuzzy at this point. She didn't remember any words her parents spoke to each other, just that they said some things before kissing goodbye and separating, with Rin's mother taking her three-day old sister, and her father grabbing Rin's hand and running in another direction.

Her father took all the hits. At every cut, every bite, he threw himself in front of Rin for everything before slaughtering whatever attacked with his sabers, cutting down so many that the blades became jagged. But it was his protectiveness that became his downfall.

He had taken so many hits that when they got out and into the nearby woods, his adrenaline rush faded. Rin watched her father collapse to the ground, his blood pooling onto the ground, the snow now stained red with blood. She was bawling at this point, but her father beckoned her to come closer. She did as she was commanded and crawled next to him.

"Rin," he had said, his breath ragged and scratchy, "I'm so sorry... I had promised your mother I would make it to Mistral with you... but it seems like that it won't be possible for me to go with you..."

"Daddy..." she sobbed, "I don't want to be alone... please don't leave me..."

"Take my blades..." he told her, managing to slowly slide his sabers over to her, "Promise me you'll make it to Mistral... tell your mother what happened."

"But-"

" _Please!_ That's an order, Rin!"

Rin knew her father was not going to make it. All hope of survival for him was lost, and this was his final wish. Though she was young, she understood that much, and nodded.

"And remember..." he gasped, "Along the way... until you find your place in life... you must remember: There is no one you can trust. Not men, not women, not beasts..."

He pointed to the blades, "Only these can you trust."

And he breathed his last. Rin had no time to mourn. There was the sound of heavy footsteps, and she ran and hid behind a tree. The footsteps stopped and Rin peeked out and immediately regretted ever doing so. It was that thing, huddled over her father's corpse, reaching out to grab it. Rin unintentionally gasped, an action she had repeatedly hurt herself for later.

The thing froze, and it's head snapped up to look at her. It was now that she got a genuinely good look at it. It's skin was as white as the snow, had three glowing red eyes, and fangs in its mouth. The spear in its hand was blacker than a moonless night. It was just as she feared. She knew what it was. But she had dismissed it as a fairy tale. A story that her parents told her so she would keep out of trouble. No. It was here, and looking straight at her.

The Ogre of Grimm was very much real.

So Rin did the only thing she could. She ran. She heard the sounds of it chasing after her, and adrenaline pumped through her veins, but she ultimately knew it would never be enough. She weaved through the maze of trees before accepting her fate, turning around, and crouching down with her sabers out in a defensive position. She waited for death. At this point, she welcomed it.

But it never came. Confused, she looked up to see that she was surrounded by rock. As in, it looked like she was _inside_ a small boulder. Outside, she heard the Ogre shuffling around, and she heard sniffing. After what felt like an hour, the thing let out a roar in frustration and stomped away, as indicated by the fading steps taken. Amazed by what she had just done, Rin dropped her stance and concentration, and the rock simply disappeared from existence.

She was breathing heavily, terror quickly turning into relief. With nothing else to do, she turned and traveled in the opposite direction that the Ogre went.

And she was only five years old.

* * *

Years went by. And Rin survived. Her Semblance helped her when she was young, but she eventually faced and killed whatever dared to challenge her. Whether it be a man, woman, Grimm, animal, nothing was spared. Gone was the carefree, naive five-year old girl, replaced by a no-nonsense, scary, strong, cautious fifteen-year old woman.

She had finally found her way to Mistral by stowing away on a Schnee Dust Company supply ship and wandered for a bit. More often than not, she encountered bandits, who were all slain by her blades. One year later, she cut down one such group of bandits while they were ravaging a village. She was praised by the townspeople, but ignored them as she tried to leave.

She only stayed for a little while longer because of the Grimm. Because for once in her entire life, she took pity on someone. The townsfolk couldn't handle the bandits at all, so how on earth could they handle Grimm? She heard the growling of Beowolves and the roars of the Ursai and drew her sabers once again.

An old man, obviously a religious person, walked up to her before the fighting started, "The gods are pleased with you. They will watch the battle."

Rin was quiet, but finally spoke after years of silence, "Are they going to help?"

The man shook his head, a bit perplexed at the question, "No."

"Then tell them to stay out of the way."

* * *

Rin woke up in a cold sweat in her dorm room at Haven Academy. She breathed heavily, trying to calm herself, with little success. She hated dreaming about her past. Nightmares still plagued her, even after joining Haven and finding friends.

"Rin...?" a voice one bed over groaned, "What is it...?"

Rin cursed under her breath, "It's nothing, Axel. Go back to sleep."

"It's that nightmare again, isn't it?"

Rin froze. She hadn't told anyone about herself having nightmares. Oh gods, does she talk in her sleep? She sneered, figuring that if Axel knew she was having those nightmares, that meant he was still sticking his nose where it didn't belong.

" _I said_ it's nothing, Axel," she insisted, malice evident in her voice, "Now go back to sleep, or I will punch you back to sleep."

The silence that followed was answer enough. Rin laid back down, knowing she probably won't be able to sleep for the rest of the night.

"Rin?"

She groaned, "What, Axel?"

"I know you're not ready to talk about it... but... just so you know, I'll always be here to listen. Whenever you're ready, I'll be here."

Rin was stunned. Then she smiled slightly, feeling her eyes begin to get wet. Add those to the list of things she hasn't done in a while. Even after four years of knowing Axel, he still surprised her. She closed her eyes, finally feeling able to sleep after a nightmare. She knew now that she had found her place in life.

"Thank you..."

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
